What is the CAUSATION STANDARD used to determine PIP Benefits after a Palm Beach County car accident?

The threshold required to pay out PIP benefits as defined by Florida statute is loss sustained as a result of bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death arising out of the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle. Florida Supreme Court has decided that all that is required for recovery in a PIP case is some nexus between the vehicle and the injury. The nexus standard has been interpreted very broadly by Florida courts who have viewed the “arising out of “ phrase as an intent by the State to effect broad coverage for any accident that occurs from any connection with a vehicle. For instance, in one case, an injury that occurred when a rock was thrown into a vehicle was covered under PIP benefits. Stilson v. Allstate Insurance Co., 692 So.2d 979 (Fla. 2d DCA 1997). That court found that all that is required is some connection between the existence of the car and the motivation behind the act that caused the injury. Other examples of cases that have satisfied the causation standard include:

• Plaintiff was attacked and robbed when he was changing a tire on a pickup truck.
• Child passenger was injured when a beer bottle exploded inside the cab of a pickup truck.
• Insured injured by police during arrest for traffic violation.
• Insured driver shot and pulled from car after refusing to give pedestrian a ride
• Driver injured when shotgun he was transporting from one location to another for safekeeping accidentally discharged
• Passenger injured in fight that ensued after pedestrians became angry when driver turned into crosswalk
• Pedestrian injured when he struck head on open door of neighbor’s car parked on sidewalk at night
• Plaintiff, standing outside vehicle, accidentally shot when driver was unloading shotgun on gun rack inside vehicle
• Worker injured in fall from hydraulic ladder attached to truck

As you can see, recovery is not limited to injuries that result from being involved in an accident because of a moving vehicle. Don’t be fooled by someone else telling you that you cannot recover PIP benefits because your injury wasn’t CAUSED by another vehicle. Get the knowledge you need to make an informed decision from an experienced Palm Beach County accident attorney. It is important for your attorney to know that the standard applied in PIP cases for “arising from the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle” is broader than the standard used in coverage under an automobile liability policy. Fowler v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 548 So.2d 830 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). Therefore, in instances where an injured may be able to recover PIP benefits, they may not be entitled to recover uninsured motorist benefits.